Mosquito Management Program

Sydney Olympic Park is one of a number of places along the Parramatta River that contains saltmarsh meadows and mangrove forests – these valuable ecosystems are natural breeding habitats for saltwater mosquitoes (Aedes vigilax). Saltwater mosquitoes are active during the warmer months, and their population peaks during summer and early autumn, following rainfall and unusually high tides.

Breeding season

Mosquitoes are most active during warmer months

You will see Sydney Olympic Park Authority-managed aerial helicopter treatments and ground-based spraying happening within the tidal wetlands of Newington Nature Reserve and Badu Mangroves. Spraying is organised to take place just after a high tide event or after heavy rains, when peak hatching occurs.

Mosquito Information Sessions

Date: 17 and 22 November 2021
Time: 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Sydney Olympic Park is hosting two community information sessions to increase awareness of the mosquito management program. It is also an opportunity for community members to ask questions. The session will provide a brief introduction to mosquito diversity and ecology. It will also highlight the Sydney Olympic Park Authority’s mosquito management program and the treatment details.

Two sessions will be held in November 2021. Pre-registration is required for these sessions. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email, with a link for the zoom session.

The information will be provided by Associate Professor Dr Cameron Webb from the University of Sydney – NSW Health Pathology. The Sydney Olympic Park Authority’s Manager Wetlands Dr Swapan Paul will facilitate the session and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

Find out more and register

What are we doing to manage mosquitos

• Reducing mosquito habitats through improving tidal flushing of degraded wetlands. Over the past 20 years, mosquito populations have reduced as a result in these habitats.
• Helicopter and ground spraying of an environmentally-friendly mosquito control product containing the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis israeiliensis (Bti) in mosquito breeding hotspots

Bti is designed to kill mosquito larvae without harming people, pets or the general environment. It targets the gut wall of larvae, killing them before they become adults. Post-treatment monitoring by Sydney University’s Department of Medical Entomology has shown that larval mosquito populations are generally reduced by 90% or more.

Mosquito breeding times and treatment days are highly dependent on tides, rainfall and temperature. Bti needs to be applied at a specific stage of the mosquito lifecycle to be effective, so treatment windows are very short. Between four to eight treatments are generally applied per season.

Key Facts about Mosquitos

1. There are 30 different types of mosquitoes found in the Sydney area.
2. Mosquitoes are important for our environment. Mosquitoes provide food for other insects, birds, bats, frogs and fish. Some mosquitos may also help to pollinate plants.
3. Not all mosquitoes are pests. Some bite birds and frogs. One species doesn’t bite at all.
4. Female mosquitoes bite as they need blood to develop their eggs. Mosquitoes also feed on nectar and other plant juices.
5. Mosquitoes have complicated life cycles. They spend the first half of their life in water, the other flying about.
6. The risk to public health by mosquito-borne disease, such as Ross River virus, is considered very low in areas of the Parramatta River estuary. Malaria and Dengue are not present in NSW. The irritation and annoyance caused by the bite of the saltwater mosquito can be significant.
7. Mosquitoes cannot spread the virus that causes COVID-19.

You can help reduce mosquito numbers and impacts by:

• eliminating mosquito breeding sites around your home and workplace
• covering up with loose long-sleeved clothing and using repellent when outdoors, particularly around dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active

Further information

If you have any enquiries about the Mosquito Management Program, please contact the Authority via enquiries@sopa.nsw.gov.au